South Africa’s NAC takes 25% of Florida’s Discovery Jets

NAC Charter (NTN, Lanseria) has entered the US charter market by acquiring a 25% stake in Discovery Jets, a Fort Lauderdale Executive-based Part 135 private jet operator whose legal name is Discovery Jets (Fort Lauderdale Executive) 693 LLC. The acquisition is in line with NAC’s expanding global footprint and will see Discovery Jets expand its range of service offerings to mirror those of NAC, chief executive Martin Banner explained. “Being a partner in this business with a Part 135 license in the USA is going to be an exciting growth opportunity for us. We welcome Discovery Jets to our NAC family, and we look forward to working closely with them to maximise the opportunities that lie ahead.” Discovery Jets CEO Darren Banham said that the deal facilitated the company’s strategy to become a “key and fundamental operator within the North, South and Central American markets while expanding our fleet conservatively to accommodate the demand”. He said the company was planning “an imminent expansion into the long-range market” with the addition of four aircraft of an undisclosed type in the coming months. It currently operates a fleet of five VIP corporate jets across North America, Central America, and the Caribbean from its bases in Fort Lauderdale, Teterboro, and Van Nuys. Its current fleet includes Cessna 750 N700SW (msn 750-0142), Challenger 300 N517WZ (msn 29132), Hawker Beechcraft 1000 N524LR (msn 259024), Learjet 60 N60GF (msn 60-077), and Gulfstream G200 N982MM (msn 204), according to the company website. NAC is the largest general aviation company in Africa. It offers a full range of aviation products and services to the aircraft and helicopter markets, including new and pre-owned sales, maintenance, parts, charter, international operations, air ambulance services, aircraft leasing, and helicopter pilot and technical training. With a Fixed Base Operation (FBO) at Lanseria, it also has a domestic network of offices at Johannesburg Rand/Germiston and the Ultimate Heliport in Johannesburg, the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, and Durban Virginia. It also has international offices in Malta. Its leasing business, Awesome Flight Logistics, is based in Johannesburg and Perth. A wholly-owned subsidiary, Specialized Aircraft Services, is based in Wichita, Kansas, managing the sales administration, registration, and export of all aircraft and parts sourced or sold in the US for NAC and its clients.